TV comedian and personality Stephen Colbert made his triumphant return to late-night TV with the debut of his own “The Late Show” last week, and his attention to music is what people should be talking about.

As a huge fan of Colbert and of, well music, one of the pieces of Colbert’s presence on TV from Comedy Central to CBS that’s mattered most to me is his passion for the musical acts he brings on the show. One of the biggest attractions to David Letterman’s 22-year run on his “Late Show” (besides the comedy, of course) was his huge variety of musical acts. So seeing Colbert continue this tradition in his own special fashion from week one was one of my favorite highlights from the promising start to the show.

In the premiere episode of “The Late Show,” Colbert advertised a musical guest of Mavis Staples and friends. Staples, an American music icon in her own right, was joined by artists of all kinds — all of whom were clearly either fans or friends of Stephen Colbert.

Just to name a few names to grace Colbert’s presence that night: Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard (of Alabama Shakes), Aloe Blacc, Ben Folds, Zach Condon (of Beirut) and Derek Trucks all joined Colbert on stage for a group performance of Sly and the Family Stone’s 60s soul hit, “Everyday People.”

That song seems to represent a running theme for this new Late Show: sure, the artists Colbert features are far from “everyday people,” but the running theme of “different strokes for different folks,” seems to be one Colbert is big on. More than any “Late Show” host that’s hit the American network airwaves of yet, Colbert has a unique dedication for inclusiveness, hosting guests from all backgrounds, audiences, musical styles and genres.

In the last week of “The Colbert Report,” as the host wrapped up his show for good, Colbert featured Kendrick Lamar as his only featured musical act of his final run. At that point, little had been heard from Lamar’s now-released third studio album, “To Pimp a Butterfly,” so instead of debuting a single, he brought a one-time performance of an untitled song to The Report. To this day, that song has still never been studio recorded.

With Lamar appearing as Colbert’s first individual musical act of his new “Late Show,” it was clear that Colbert was bringing this relationship with music to his new show as well. With a new(ish) release in hand to promote, Kendrick performed a medley of songs from his album at a running time of over six minutes—unheard of for a major network late-night show. For a hip-hop artist to get that kind of coverage from “The Late Show” shows Colbert’s willingness to try new and unheard-of things with his even more unique position as music promoter on CBS.

Kendrick Lamar got huge billing for his second-episode performance on the show—but even more impressive are the other artists of the week. Joining him as the opening artists for the show: country icon Toby Keith and folk-rock legend Paul Simon. You can’t get a more diverse opening lineup than that. Scheduled for the next two weeks of the show include acts like hip-hop duo Run the Jewels, indie rockers TV on the Radio, grunge-rock mainstay Pearl Jam and even a ballet arrangement adapted from the Broadway show “An American in Paris.”

Stephen Colbert made clear from episode one that he has one goal in mind for his musical direction on his new show: catering to the increasingly niche and diverse tastes of his mainstream American audience.

I’ll admit I didn’t watch all of Toby Keith’s performance last Thursday. But I wasn’t complaining that he was on — the fact that Colbert can find so many interests and tastes to cater to so easily with his evident passion for music of all kinds is what will make this “Late Show” one worthy to succeed David Letterman’s legendary run. Inclusiveness is a more popular theme in the media than ever, and this “Late Show” will help drive that forward even more.

Brett Weiser-Schlesinger is a sophomore newspaper and online journalism major. He can be reached by email at bweisers@syr.edu or by Twitter at @brettws.

Published on September 15, 2015 at 9:43 pm